One to Watch: Piamita

Published Dec 14, 2011 at 9:05 AM

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With experience at major glossies like Interview, Vogue and Vanity Fair, Cecelia de Sola and Karla Martinez had a distinct advantage when they decided to launch their line of luxurious lounge-wear.

"I am lucky to be at the pulse of what is going on in the market before most people are," says Karla, currently Market & Accessories Director of W. "With the exposure, one develops a trained eye for editing what is available and seeing what is missing."

Launched in time for the Resort '11 season, their shared label, Piamita, was conceived in order to fill a gap in the lounge-wear market. Refining and tweaking a classic pajama silhouette, the designers dedicated themselves to making looks that worked "as easily inside the home as out and about on the town."

Indeed, while some pieces take a more literal approach to pajama-dressing (as in a trim, tailored interpretation of a classic men's pajama with a subtle flare leg), others looks are simply comfy-chic, as in a beautifully cut column dress, presented as "an elegant alternative to a muumuu."

Vibrant prints and patterns are an important part of what distinguishes Piamita from other "luxe-basic" labels, and often have personal stories attached to them. One print in particular was inspired by Cecelia's childhood spent on a coffee plantation. "The 'Cafe' print is a desaturated watercolor image of coffee beans that we wanted to make look like an animal print," she explains. "The prints for Resort were inspired both by our past and present. "